2020 has been quite the year. Even the Internet has turned against us. According to cybersecurity firm McAfee, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have made searching for celebrities on the web even more dangerous. In their 14th annual survey, San Jose, CA-based McAfee (MCFE) identified the most dangerous celebrities around the globe to search for on the Intertubes in 2020.
1- Anna Kendrick – The actress, singer, and Doritos slinger was recently crowned McAfee’s 2020 most dangerous celebrity online. Thanks to her roles in Pitch Perfect, Twilight, Love Life, and Trolls World Tour, her search results were most likely to be used by online criminals to expose her fans to potentially malicious content. She ranked 4th most dangerous in 2019.
2 – Sean “Diddy” Combs – The multi-millionaire rapper and producer, was the second most dangerous celebrity on the McAfee list. Diddy sparked fan and attacker interest by announcing the return of MTV’s Making the Band. He also hosted a virtual dance-a-thon fundraiser featuring J. Lo, Snoop Dogg, and Justin Bieber to raise money for healthcare workers. Mr. Combs is no stranger to McAfee’s list – he ranked No. 8 in 2017.
3- Blake Lively – The actress’s roles in the TV series Gossip Girl and in films like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Green Lantern garnered her enough attention to put her number 3 on this year’s McAfee list.
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– Mariah Carey – The award-winning singer drew the attention of fans and fraudsters in 2020. She headlined the iHeart Living Room Concert for America event that raised over $8 million in the fight against COVID-19. She appeared in virtual telethon Rise Up New York! to raise money for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The diva was McAfee’s 2020 #4 most dangerous celebrity. She was #5 in 2008.
5- Justin Timberlake – The Grammy award-winning singer, actor, and producer is very popular with attackers. In 2020 his work on the soundtrack for the Trolls World Tour and collaboration with Justin Bieber attracted online attackers. In 2020 Mr. Timberlake ranked #5 on the McAfee list. He ranked number 46 in 2013 and number 3 in 2008.
6 – Taylor Swift – The country singer-songwriter dropped two albums in 2020, Folklore and Evermore. The award-winning singer’s popularity and ongoing disputes made Taylor Swift McAfee’s 6th most dangerous celebrity to search for in 2020.
7 – Jimmy Kimmel – The late-night TV show actor’s 2020 notoriety made Mr. Kimmel an effective lure for fraudsters. role as the host of celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and host of the Emmy Awards had to take time off over his appearance in blackface and using racial slurs in a music video. This notoriety landed him at#7 on the 2020 list. He ranked first on McAfee’s 2015 most dangerous celebrity list.
8 – Julia Roberts – Academy Award winner and Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich actress Julia Roberts earned the #8 spot this year. He is another favorite of fraudsters, she ranked No. 2 on the McAfee 2010 most dangerous celebrity list.
9 – Kate McKinnon – The Saturday Night Live actress and comedian attracted the attention of fans and hackers in 2020 when she announced that she would continue the chaos and star as Carole Baskin in an upcoming ‘Tiger King‘ TV series.
10 – Jason Derulo. The Haitian-American vocal sensation Derulo’s massive success on Tik Tok got him the #10 place on McAfee’s 2020 list.
In the UK, Graham Norton was McAfee’s most dangerous 2020 Celebrity. Mr. Norton was followed by comedian Ricky Gervais. 75-year-old Rolling Stones front-man Sir Mick Jagger ranked fifth on the McAfee list for 2020.
In Australia, British singer-songwriter Adele topped McAfee’s dangerous celeb list for 2020, edging out second-place Anna Kendrick. Rapper Drake was third down under.
in India. Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped the list. McAfee ranked Bollywood actresses Tabu and Taapsee Pannu the second and third riskiest celebs to search for in India.
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Some of the stars are new, but the game is the same. In addition to the same advice from 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, – apply some critical thinking to your web surfing so you don’t fall victim to any of McAfee’s most dangerous celebrities online.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
McAfee research found that searching for the latest Cameron Diaz pictures and downloads yields a ten percent chance of landing on a website that’s tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses, and other malware. These fans are at risk of running into online threats designed to steal personal information. Clicking on these risky sites and downloading files like photos, videos, or screen savers exposes surfers or consumers to the risk of downloading viruses and malware.